iRiver IFP-899 review (for linguists)

Those of you who have gotten to know me over the years might remember that I have often voiced disapprobation toward the use of portable media players (Sony MiniDisc, iPod, digital dictaphones, etc.) for critical linguistic data gathering projects. Two of my favorite arguments include (1) the lack of professional-grade microphone interfaces, and (2) the use of quality-degrading sound compression typically found on such devices. Indeed, I yet have to find a suitable flash memory replacement for my Sony TCD-D100 DAT under $1,000. Even dedicated portable recorders such as the Marantz PMD660 have major design and sound quality issues.

Figure 1

1. Podcasting

Fortunately for us linguists, the portable audio recording industry has been fueled by the proliferation of audio podcasting. Recent advances in chip design and miniaturization have further contributed to the current abundance of personal MP3 players with audio recording capability at affordable prices (under $100). Models such as Creative ZEN Nano Plus are even equipped with a stereo line-in recording interface in order to facilitate direct MP3 encoding from analog sources. The built-in omnidirectional microphones are generally useless for linguistic data collection,but the line-in interface definitely deserves a closer look.

2. The amazing IFP-899 (Figure 1)

After reading Michael Oster's review of the iRiver IFP-899, I decided to give the recorder a try. I purchased my IFP-899 on eBay. It was listed as "refurbished" but came complete with the usual accessories, a 1-year warranty, and without any signs of use. In the US, one should be able to get the IFP-899 on eBay for under $50. Since the unit has already been discontinued by iRiver, it might be difficult to track it down at retail consumer electronics stores, such as Best Buy or Circuit City.

The IFP-899 is designed intelligently with a near-perfect blend of build quality, ergonomics, and usability. The number of options available in the IFP-899 firmware is astounding; clearly an attempt to gain some of the iPod's market share. Detailed specifications can be found in the owner's manual, available at the iRiver support site.

3. Line-in recording quality and performance

The IFP-899 has a stereo mini plug line input. The recorder can be set up for (1) direct microphone input, or (2) direct line-in input from a stand-alone preamplifier. While both options are perfectly useable, I found the line-in setting to cause significantly less preamp noise. Therefore, the first option is good enough for non-critical projects (standard, "static" formant analysis), while the other is aimed at more advanced users with particularly demanding acoustic analysis goals (e.g., vowel nasalization). Note that the iRiver's mini-plug (1/8 inch) input does not offer plug-in power (as in the Edirol R-09).

3.1 Direct recording from a self-powered condenser microphone

The Radio Shack 33003 (Figure 2) is an inexpensive omnidirectional lavalier condenser microphone that is equipped with its own battery-powered in-line power supply. Thus, it can be connected directly to the IFP-899's line input. The 33003 was used in a head-mounted configuration. If Radio Shack does not carry the model any more, you should be able to find an equivalent microphone, such as the Audio-Technica ATR35s for less than $50 US.

Figure 2

I think it would be a true technological miracle if the iRiver IFP-899 had a quality built-in microphone preamplifier. What it does seem to have is an analog signal gain in order to amplify the inherently low microphone signal level. This results in a certain level of noise but not much distortion. I would not hesitate to recommend this type of set-up to non-critical field recording applications. However, for critical work, this option should definitely be avoided.

3.2 Recording with an external preamp

The iRiver IFP-899 really shines when it is used with the Sound Devices MixPre - a dedicated field preamplifier (Figure 3). Simply connect the "Tape out" stereo output of the MixPre to the "Line in" input of the iRiver IFP-899 with the stereo mini-plug cable supplied with the iRiver recorder. Then adjust the "Line-in output sensitivity" of the iRiver to "50." I used a signal calibrator to arrive at this value. Once that has been done, you will no longer have to worry about signal levels on the iRiver. Instead, the dBFS scale of the MixPre should correspond closely to the actual dBFS value of the recorded signal.

Figure 3

The resulting signal (Figure 4) is of extremely high quality, considering the size and price of the iRiver IFP-899 MP3 player. The quality of MP3 encoding is very high - free from noise and compression artifacts. Below is a spectrogram of the Polish phrase czarna krowa ('black cow') recorded with the Sennheiser HMD25 microphone. The spectrogram shows a very strong, well-defined signal with a neutral (flat) envelope and very little distortion in the time and frequency domains. Both the extreme low frequency nasal (the consonant "n") as well as the very high frequency affricate (the consonant "cz") are very well-defined with ample spectral detail for even the most demanding acoustic analysis.

Figure 5

Similarly, a narrow-band FFT spectrum of the vowel /a/ in "czarna" (Figure 6) shows a very natural spectral envelope and sharply defined formant peaks.

Figure 6

4. Software and drivers

I tested the iRiver IFP-899 unit with standard Windows XP drivers and software. The unit installs as an USB device, not as universal mass storage (UMS), though a firmware upgrade is available to add the UMS functionality. Personally, I found the standard installation to work flawlessly and was never tempted to upgrade the firmware. The iRiver Music Manager software is very easy to use, simple in design (a dual-window, drag-and-drop interface), and stable. In addition to organizing files, it can also convert recorded files into standard MP3 format on copying them onto the host PC.

5. Summary

5.1 Pros:

• excellent playback quality of MP3 and WMA files
• compact and lightweight design
• line-in recording at class-leading MP3 quality of 44,100 Hz / 320kbps
• class-leading battery life (40 hrs on a single AA battery)
• stable and well-designed software (only Windows XP Pro tested)
• a lot of highly customizable settings available
• 14 hours of mono (7 hrs of stereo) of high-quality MP3 content

5.2 Cons:

• no removable storage
• the complexity of some of the options and settings may appear daunting, particularly in contrast to the iPod

6. Downloads

Download the master WAVE file at 44.1 KHz, 16-bit - converted from MP3 with Sony Sound Forge 8.0.